Ron Ploof › Comments

"Thanks, Kay. It's funny, my podcast, "Griddlecakes Radio" has been compared with This American Life. It must be the storyteller-thing:-)" - Ron Ploof

"Thanks for the reply, Lisa. I think that David was asking about the monetary success of the campaign. After Awesome August customer appreciation month is over, perhaps I can interview you to find out how successful it was in accomplishing your sales goals?" - Ron Ploof

"Hi Kirsten. Two things: 1) Great list, however something very important is missing from it...the content production that is being published into each channel. There's a direct correlation between the social media inputs (content) and the social media outputs (subscribers, fans, likes, shares, etc...). For example, if one only produces a single video per year, it's hard to expect one's YouTube stats to go up and to the right. Same applies if someone publishes a crappy video every week:-) 2) After determining what inputs and outputs to track, I like to put them into a custom dashboard to see how they behave over time. By comparing the audience, production, engagement, and reach of each channel, it's pretty easy to see what content is working and more importantly, what content isn't. In addition to the raw numbers, the dashboard also contains a living narrative section to capture observations, experiments, results, popular hashtags, company feedback, etc...This document helps the team..." - Ron Ploof

"Hi Bob, Thanks for the comment. It helps me be more specific about what I am working on...or more importantly, what I'm NOT working on. I'm not looking to use things such as LinkedIn and "social conversations" on the right-hand side of the chart. Instead, I'm looking at emerging platforms that are being built to serve the right-hand side areas. Specifically, I'm using the word "network" in the truest sense of the term. Networks have nodes and edges. Nodes are connected by edges. Nodes can consist of documents connected to other documents (semantic web); people connected to other people (social graph); and machines (sensors and actuators) connected to other machines to form distributed feedback and control systems. I'm digging into examples of networks built on heterogeneous nodes of documents, people, and machines. Such amalgamated systems are producing results for corporations that were impossible just a few years ago. Finally, I've spoken enough about how ROI is a bad measurement on..." - Ron Ploof

"Congrats, Tim. I can't wait to read/view/enjoy it. Ron" - Ron Ploof

"This is a great start, John. I would like to add one more piece. Instead of a system that is "...engaging, easy, and fun to use," any initiative must result in a net positive experience for the employees. If an employee is required to take on additional tasks, processes, or use new tools, yet receives no benefit (increased productivity, reduced workload, bonus, etc...), then the social initiative will join its predecessors on the scrap heap." - Ron Ploof

"Thanks for the comments, guys. Alan, I was actually trying to be longsighted...err...if that's a word...But, I still luv ya! Since I view social media as simply a communication technology like email, or smoke signals, or the telegraph, I have a hard time putting it into the "career" category. Communications technologies carry things. To me, one can build a career on creating great content and matching it with the right medium. I do see what you are talking about from a vender perspective. If you are a technology manufacturer who builds communications tools for email, online video, blogging, etc..., sure, I can see a career in that. But, manufacturing hammers, word processors, or paint brushes doesn't make one a carpenter, writer, or artist. Kevin, I see marketing and advertising as careers because they do exactly what I mentioned to Alan: create content and determine the best medium by which to place that content. I really resonated with your assertion that social media "...looks a..." - Ron Ploof

"Let me know when you write it. I'll be the first to subscribe!" - Ron Ploof

"Thanks, Lynette.  The experiment is working out pretty well, so far. Last night, Total Facebook Fans called the bottom three contestants in each gender category, and the momentum factor that we learned after week #1's voting helped us sift the bottom two out of those six.I'm not sure where this effort will lead us, but I think that by the end of the season, we'll have an interesting case study to wrap-up." - Ron Ploof

"Thanks for the mention, Chris! Change is very important in story. Storytellers must constantly judge how fast the plot is moving forward. Too fast and the readers/listeners don't make a connection with it. Too slow, and they've either fallen asleep or have moved onto finding something that moves faster. The best stories incorporate change as a result of conflict, which is why sales is a great story-topic. Think about all of the conflict opportunities in the sales process: 1) Customer has a problem to solve. 2) Sales person has a solution to sell. 3) Customer wants to solve the problem without paying an arm and a leg. 4) Sales person wants both arms and both legs. 5) Sales person has a sales manager who will gladly just take an arm. Great stories have characters in conflict, with a final resolution that leaves everyone in the story changed." - Ron Ploof

"They still do, Ed. In 2010, the New York Times's balance sheet held $680 million for Goodwill and Intangible Assets. At last year's circulation numbers, that translates into about $750/subscriber. It's time that companies start thinking about the value of their various "social media" audiences and tracking them on their own balance sheets." - Ron Ploof

"When it all comes down to it, the only true measure of life is the time we share with friends and family. And although we don't get the opportunity to spend that much time together due to the whole continental divide thing, I cherish the times that we do." - Ron Ploof

"What did you expect from a Catholic boy who grew up in Massachusetts? :-)" - Ron Ploof

"No recall that I know of. Make sure to click on the links in the article to get more information on the problem." - Ron Ploof

I love this story. A Google search leads to a biography in Google Books, which leads to a reunion...67 years later. - Ron Ploof

"Thanks for the mention, Mel! I like to use the analogy of the content creation engine. Perhaps you share a thought on Twitter that gets many replies, leading you to write a more, in-depth blog post. A series of similar blog posts may lead to a whitepaper or ebook. A series of ebooks can be used to build a full-length book. Slowly but surely it's easy to build-up a valuable body of work." - Ron Ploof

"Thanks for the mention, Mel! I like to use the analogy of the content creation engine. Perhaps you share a thought on Twitter that gets many replies, leading you to write a more, in-depth blog post. A series of similar blog posts may lead to a whitepaper or ebook. A series of ebooks can be used to build a full-length book. Slowly but surely it's easy to build-up a valuable body of work." - Ron Ploof

"Vizio is right here in Southern California. I'll put them on the list:-)" - Ron Ploof

"Hey, that's the BindMate GCX Model II, as I described it in The Edison Effect...published in 1995! I guess I was ahead of my time:-)" - Ron Ploof

Oops. - Ron Ploof

Great stuff from one of my new favorite content creators. - Ron Ploof

Once again, Judy calls 'em the way she sees 'em. - Ron Ploof

This would make for a great parody video: "Name that business model!" - Ron Ploof

"Welcome aboard and thanks for the comment, Chris!" - Ron Ploof

"Welcome aboard and thanks for the comment, Chris!" - Ron Ploof

Looks like a great little rig. - Ron Ploof

"If only executives could heed this message and get out of their own ways, their companies would be so much closer to their customers." - Ron Ploof

"If only executives could heed this message and get out of their own ways, their companies would be so much closer to their customers." - Ron Ploof

"Hey, thanks for the quote! I hope that Tiger Airways sees this article as a resource that they can draw from in the future." - Ron Ploof

"Hey, thanks for the quote! I hope that Tiger Airways sees this article as a resource that they can draw from in the future." - Ron Ploof